Electrically-operated valve



2 Sheets-Sheet l w e a a M a 3 w .m a? & 10 i I M. & W. l i \l M 7 gym 22 @w Oct. 19 192 J. G. GOODHUE ET AL ELECTRICALLY OPERATED VALVE FiledJuly 9. 1924 Patented @ct. 19, 1926.

NTED STATES OFFICE.

JULIAN G. GOODHUE, 0F EVANSTON, AND HERBERT J. SAUVAGE, OF CHICAGO,ILLI- NOIS, ASSIGNORS T0 TRUSTEES ,OF THE ELECTIRO THERMIOSTATIC CONTROLCOM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (A TRUST ESTATE).

ELECTRICALLY-OI PERATED VALVE.

Application filed July 9, 1924. Serial No. 724,951.

This invention relates to electric and thermostatic controls for steamvalves and the like, wherein the operation of the valve responds to theopening or closing of a single control circuit. F

It has for its objects to provide electrical means for opening thevalve; to provide mechanical means for holding the valve open toeconomize on the consumption of electrical power; to provide means fordisconnecting the electrical valve opening means from the control whenthe valve is open to reduce the amount of current consumed aiid toprovide a low current consuming device operable when the control circuitis broken for releasing the valve holding means so that the valve isautomatically closed in case of failure in the electrical parts. Otherobjects are to employ an electrically heated expansion motor foroperating the valve. against a heavy valve closing spring, which motorhas a powerful action in proportion to the energy supplied for actuatingthe same; and mechanicall operated means operable directly by t e valvefor disconnecting the heater from the control circuit as soon as thevalve is open.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the valve and valveactuating mechanism embodying our invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 2-2 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 'is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale taken on theline 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a circuit diagram of the apparatus of Figures 1, 2, and 3;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of a modified form of valve;and

Figure 6 is a circuit diagram of the modified apparatus of Figure 5.

The thermostatic control of our invention is shown in the drawings asapplied to a valve 10 inserted in a steam line 11. The valve,'it will beunderstood, may control the flow of steam to the radiators of a dryingkiln or other room which is to be kept at a constant temperature. Tominimize the force necessary to actuate the valve we pre- .fer to employ'a balanced valve of the type here shown comprising a air of valve faces12 which close against va ve seats 13 in the partition 14. The stem 15of the valve exvcounter-sunk screws 28.

tends upwardly through a bonnet 16 and packlng 17 into a casing 18. Thevalve stem carries a plunger 15* slidable within a bore screws 24, theplate 23 being provided with an opening 23' through which the valve stem15 extends. In order to reduce the conduct1on of heat from the steam inthe valve to the heat motor (presently to be described) within thecasing, we provide spacing posts 25 between the closure plate 23 and thebody of the valve 10. The posts'25 are provided with reduced portions 26threaded into the bod of the valve 10 while the upper ends of t e postsare secured to the plate 24 by Above the shelf 21- the valve stem 15 isprovided with a threaded ortion 29 upon which is screwed a threadedannular nut or collar 30 which may be locked at the desired positionalong the threaded portion by means of a set'screw 31. A coil spring 32inserted between the collar 30 and the closure plate 23 tends to pullthe valve to its closed position. The upper end of the valve stem 15 isseated in a suitable depression in the bottom plate 33 of an annularmetal bellows or sylphon 34. The top plate 35 of the sylphon 1s clampedby ca screws 36 to a yoke 37 extending outward y from the back plate 19of the casing. The bottom plate 33 ofthe sylphon has an upwardlyextending shank 38 shouldered at 39 adjacent its upper end to limit thecollapsing of the sylphon 34 under the upward pressure of the s ring 32.The reduced end portion of the s ank 38 is reciprocably guided in abore40 in the top late 35. h 1 a T e plate 535;;58; brazed orsoldered tothe lower open eii'dief a cylinder or sleeve 41, formed from any thinmetal which is a good conductorof heat, and constituting a vaporizingchamber for the liquid therein,

At its upper end the sleeve 41 is doubled back within itself as a smalldiameter inner sleeve 43 open at its upper end but closed at its lowerend. Between the outer sleeve 41 and the inner sleeve 43 is left a longannular space of small volume as compared with the area of the innersleeve. Communication between the interior of the sylphon 34 and theinterior of the sleeve 41 is afiorded by holes 42 through the top plate35 of the sylphon. An electrical cartridge heater 44 is inserted in theinner sleeve 43, its diameter being sufficient to make a snug fit withthe sleeve. The cartridge heater may be of any of the suitable types nowin general use.

The sylphon 34 and the sleeve 41 are filled with a suitable liquid suchas a mineral oil having a relatively high boiling point and which willnot afiect the metal of the sleeve and tube. It will be seen that'if thealcohol or other liquid within the sleeve 41 is heated to its vaporizingtemperature it will quickly expand, forcing the bottom plate 33 of thesylphon downwardly and opening the valve. Heating of the liquid in thesleeve 41 for this purpose is accomplished by sending current throughthe lead wires 42 of the cartridge heater.

The circuit for the heater 44 is controlled in part by a mercury contactdouble switch 46 which Will now be described. The glass shell of theswitch 46 is carried by clips 47 on an L-shaped bracket 48 attachedtothe outer side of a lever 48. This lever, which we will refer to as theswitch lever, is pivoted upon a pin 49 secured in the back wall 19 ofthe casing. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the lever 48 is dividedintermediate its ends to form lateral rails or bars which bridge aroundthe' valve stem 15 and its collar 30. Each rail of the lever 48 carriesa pin 50 which extends radially into an annular groove 51 in the collar30. The switch lever is thus swung about its pivot 49 by reciprocationof the valve stem 15, and as the switch lever is swung, the switch 46which it carries is thrown from. one position to another. When theswitch is in the position shown in the drawings, that is, when the valveis closed, the mercury globule 52 is moved to the lower or right handend of the glass shell where it connects the contact points 53 and 54.

Referring for a moment to the circuit diagram of Figure 4 we haveindicated a thermostat 55 which is placed in the kiln or other room tothetemperature of which the thermostatic control is to be responsive.Al-

though any suitable type of thermostat may be used we have here shown asylphon chamber 56 containing a fluid which at a high temperature willexpand the sylphon to hold the contact points 57 open. Conversely,

when the temperature falls to a redetermined amount the contacts 57 wille closed,

aces

thereby closing an electrical circuit from a suitable source of current58 through the heater 44 of the heat motor and the contacts 53 and 54 ofthe switch 46. The heater 44 will soon raise the temperature of therelatively small body of liquid between the inner and outer sleeves toits vaporizing point after which it will rapidly expand, forcing theliquid outwardly at the bottom of the sleeve through the holes 42 intothe sylphon 34. The bottom plate 33 of the sylphon, as previouslydescribed, will then push the valve stem 15 downwardly to open the valveand permit the flow of steam therethrough. As the valve stem descendsthe collar 30 will carry the pins 50 on the switch lever downwardly,thereby swinging the lever to its lower position. The mercury globule 52will then run to the opposite end of the glass shell and close thecircuit between the contact points 59 and 60 atthe left end of theswitch.

The throwing of the switch 46 will open the circuit of-the heater 44,permitting the liquid in the sleeve 41 to cool off gradually. Thecontacts 59 and 60, however, close'a second circuit from the power line58 through the windings of a solenoid 61 and through the contacts 57 ofthe thermostat. The solenoid 61, as shown in Figure 1, is mounted withinthe casing 18 and has a downwardly extending core 62 and a collar 63near the lower end thereof.

A second lever 64, which we shall refer -to as the latch lever, ispivotaly mounted on a pin 65 extending from the back plate of thecasing, the right hand end of the lever extending as an arm 66 to aposition beneath the collar 63 of the solenoid core while the left handend of the lever carries a counterweight 67. The lever 64 also carries alatch plate 68 secured thereto by a cap screw 69. The left hand end ofthe switch lever 48 has a similar plate 70. As shown in Fig. 3, thesolenoid plunger collar 63 is. resting on the end 66 of lever 64,thereby the latch 68 of 64 is rotated clockwise substantially out of thearc of travel of the latch plate 7 O in the switch lever 48. Should theend of the plate T drawn upwardly and allows tie lever 64 to rotatecounter-clockwise. under the turning movement of the counterweight 67,and

position'the end of the plate 68 over the endof the plate 70, so thatwhen the fluid in the bellows 34 contracts in'cooling, after theelectric heating element has been disreoaeea connected, the valveclosing spring 32 will force the plate 70 into engagement under- L neaththe plate 68. The line of engagement of the two plates is slightly tothe right of the center of the pivot 65, therefore the pressure from theheavy valve closing spring is being exerted to rotate the lever 64counter-clockwise for further engagement of the plates, which rotationwould be stopped by the adjacent surfaces of the end of the lever 48 andthe counterweight 67 coming into contact.

So long as the contacts 57 of the thermostatremain closed, the solenoid61 will be energized and the plunger 62 drawn up away from the lever end66 and the valve will be held locked inits open position by the catch68. When, however, the temperature in the kiln or room again risesbecause of the steam or other heating medium admitted through the valve10 to the radiators, the sylphon 56 of the thermostat will expand andopen the contacts 57. The solenoid 61 being thus deenergized, the core62 will drop permitting the collar 63 to impinge and swing the arm 660]". the latch lever downwardly and consequently release the latch plate68 to permit the switch lever 48 to be swung upwardly under tension ofthe spring 32. The relative length of the arm 66 and the movement arm ofthe contact line of the two latches about the center of rotation is suchthat the weight alone of the solenoid plunger 62 is sufiicient to rotatethe lever 64. clockwise .when the latch is holding the valve open.

The device is thus returned to the normal position shown in the drawingswith the steam valve closed and the mercury closing the contacts 53 and54 of the switch.

If desired a pair of fuses 71 and 72 conveniently mounted within thecasing may be inserted in the circuit of the device to protect thewindings and the heater thereof.

In those instances where the valve controlled by the device is used inconnection. with a refrigerating system or if for other reason it isdesired that the valve open at a high temperature and close at a lowtemperature the same apparatus may be used except that the contacts 57of the thermostat are reversed so that they close at high temperature.By similarly reversing the contacts 57 a normally open or downwardlyclosing steam valve may be used. Such a valve is shown in Figure 5. Thebody 75 of the valve is supported by cap screws 28' passing throughspacing sleeves25 to the closure plate 24 on the shelf 21, of thecasing. A. valve head 76 is adapted to close against a seat 77, thehead76 being provided with a boss 78 threaded into the lower end of a sleeve79. The upper end of the sleeve 79 carries a piston 80'which co-acts'with an internal'bore of the bonnet 81 to function as a dash pot for thepiston'head 76. In lieu of packing we employ a sylphon 82 disposed aboutthe sleeve 79, the lower end of the sylphon being clamped between thehead 76 and the lower end of the sleeve 79 while the upper end of thesylphon is clamped between the lower end of the screw threaded bonnet 81and a suitable shoulder 83 on the body of the valve.

The valve head is provided with a valve stem 15' similar to the valvestem 15 of Figure 1 except that it is slidably journaled in the centralbore of the sleeve 79 and that at its end it has a head 84 slidablewithin a counterbore 85 at the lower end of the sleeve 79. A spring 86interposed between the boss 78 of the valve head and the head 84 of thevalve stem provides a yielding lost motion between the valve head andthe stem. The

spring 32 normally urges the valve stem 15 upwardly lifting the valvehead 76 from its m'ostat 55 will close its contacts 57, establishing acircuit through the coil to the heater 44 of the heat motorand thecontacts 53 and 54 of the switch 46. Expansion of the li uid in thesleeve 41 will then force the va ve stem 15' downwardly against thespring 32 to close the valve. Because of the fact that the valve stemwill rise slightly as the liquid in the sleeve 41 cools, until the plate70 contacts the latch plate 68 to lock the valve, it is necessary thatthe lost motion afiorded by the spring 86 be provided for the valve 5.When the valve stem moves downwardly to close the valve the spring 86will yield sufficiently so that after the valve stem has again beenraised a slight distance the spring 86 will still force the valve head76 against its seat 77.

As soon as the valve closes the switch 46 will be thrown to itsalternate position, closing the contact points 59 and 60 to energizesince failure of current generally results in a shut down of all work.For such installations the device of Figures 1 to 4 is preferably emloyed. In homes,- however, where the heating apparatus receives noinspection during the night, it is desirable that the radiator valvesopen whenthe current fails, so that the water pipes in the house willnot freeze. In such cases, we prefer to use the -perature in the kiln orroom rises the therdevice shown in Figures 5 and 6 This reversedarrangement of the mechanism is considered within the scope of theclaims,

While we have shown these particular embodiments of our invention wecontemplate that many changes may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit or scope of our invention. We claim:

1. The combination of a valve, an electrically actuated ex. ansion motorfor operating said valve, catc 1 means for holding said valve whenoperated by said motor, a thermostatically controlled circuit for saidmotor, an 'electro-magnet for releasin said catch means upon beingde-energize and switch means actuated by said motor for substitutingsaid electro-magnet for said motor in said circuit when said motor hasoperated said valve.

2. In combination with a valve having a stem, electrical valve openingmeans, a latch for holding the valve open, a solenoid hav ing a plungerwhich, is adapted when the solenoidis dc-energized for holding the latchin disengageable relation with said stem and adapted when the solenoidis energized to free said latch,.an o erating circuit, means operativelyconnecte to the valve stem adapted to connect and disconnect saidelectrical valve opening means into said circuit when "the valve isclosed and open respectively, and said means adapted to connect thesolenoid into said circuit when the valve is open and to disconnect thesolenoid from the circuit when the valve is closed.

3. In combination with a self-closing valve, a heat expansion motor foropening the valve, an electrical heater for the motor,

' means operatively connected to the valve for electrically connectingand disconnecting the gheater, and mechanical means for holding thevalve open.

4. In combination with an automatically closing valve having a stem,a-heat expan-- sion motorfor opening the valve, an electrical heater forthe motor, a pivotally mounted switch lever attached to the valve stem,and a mercury switch for said heater mounted on the lever in position toclose and open with the valve. I v f 5. In combination withan'automatically closing valve"having a stem,a heat expanthe means forcontrolling the catch when the valve isopen.

7. In combination with a self-closing valve, electrically operated valveopening means, a self-operating latch for holding the valve open, asolenoid having a plunger adapted to disengage the latch and hold thelatch disengaged when the solenoid is deenergized, and means operativelyconnected to the valve tor electrically connectin the solenoid when thevalve is open and a apted to disconnect the solenoid when the valve isclosed.

8. In combination with a valve of a thermostatic control therefor,comprising a heat expansion motor for actuating said valve, a springresistance to said actuation of the valve, a catch for holding the valveagainst said resistance after the valve has been actuated, anelectro-magn'et for-releasing the catch when said electromagnetisde-ener-' the electromagnet for the heater in said circuit for holdingthe electromagnet from re-' leasing the catch while the thermostaticswitch is closed and the valve open, said means being adapted to bereversed when the thermostatic switch is opened and the valve closed. v

9. In combination with a self-closing valve, a catch self-actuated forholding the valve open, an electrically operated valve opener, asolenoid having a plunger ada ted, when released, to move the catch fromolding the valve, a circuit including a source of current and including,when the valve is closed, sald valve opener, means for closing thecircuit, and means 0 erable by the valve 7 for sl bstitutin said soenoid in the circuit in place of sai valve opener when the valve isopen. v

7 In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 3 day ofJuly, 1924.

JULIAN e. eoonnuu? HERBERT J, SAUVAGE.

